Archives for Newman Wachs Racing

YOUNG AUSTRALIAN SHIELDS TO JOIN NEWMAN WACHS RACING FOR 2019

CHICAGO, Ill. – Newman Wachs Racing is thrilled to announce that Australian Cameron Shields will join the team for the 2019 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship.

The Toowoomba, Queensland, native may be new to the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, but he’s no rookie in the world of racing. In just short four years competing in cars, Shields has built an impressive resume that includes an impressive 52 wins out of 154 races entered, running in Australian Formula 3, Formula 4 and Formula Ford. Shields sampled the waters in the US last September by testing an Indy Pro 2000 car at the 2018 Chris Griffis Memorial test but found that a USF2000 car would be a better fit for this year.

“I’m very excited to have Cameron signed with the team for the 2019 season,” said Brian Halahan, NWR Team Manager. “I think his racing history speaks for itself and I expect to be fighting for wins right out of the box. The combination of his experience and our engineer John Hayes’ knowledge should be a powerful combination. St. Petersburg cannot come soon enough!”

Cameron started racing at the young age of six in junior motocross, winning a remarkable 21 times with 34 podiums. In 2010, Shields had decided that four wheels were more his style and he began karting at the junior level, winning 42 races with 73 podiums during his six years in the sport. In 2015, he competed in his first Formula Ford race at age 14. Then in 2016, he began his full-time open-wheel car racing career, getting his feet wet running in the Australian Formula 3 series, taking the National class championship.

Heading into the 2017 season, Shields was awarded a Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) Rising Star Scholarship to compete in the Australian Formula 4 series where he finished third in the championship, which earned him the CAMS Young Driver of the Year award. He also competed in Australian Formula Ford series finishing second in the championship, with a combined 17 wins between the two series. Last season, he scored 18 wins en route to runner-up status in the Australian Formula 3 Premier Championship.

Shields will race with the valued support of Dependable Sheds, HRX, Vision Sports Science, Speak Up for Sport, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF), and mentor Graeme Lloyd; two-time World Series winner with the New York Yankees. Cameron was the recipient of 2019 SAHOF scholarship and mentor program and received a $5,000 (AUS) scholarship which he invested in testing at the end of last season to prepare for the upcoming USF2000 season. Cameron is also fortunate to count NTT IndyCar Series driver Will Power and his father Bob as mentors to help guide his career aspirations.

“I am very pleased to announce that I will be joining with Newman Wachs Racing ahead of the 2019 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship,” Shields enthused. “Newman Wachs Racing is a very professional team, with a long history of results to back that up and I am full of confidence that together this season we can continue that trend of success with the ultimate goal of becoming the 2019 Cooper Tires USF2000 champions! It has been a very tough journey over the Christmas break to ensure that I could be on the grid this season. Without the help of my parents, Will Power, Bob Power and Charles Crews, alongside every member of NWR, there is no way I would be returning to America, so I would like to sincerely thank each of them and all NTT IndyCar Series and Andersen Promotions personnel whom I have interacted with over the last six months for the upcoming series championship.”

The team has been hard at work since the end of last season testing multiple drivers, while competing in the Trans-Am Series, along with the 2018 NASA 25 Hour and the 2019 PBOC Winterfest. With Nolan Siegel having been officially confirmed for the 2019 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, the team is looking to add an additional driver to the line-up ahead of the opening round at St. Petersburg on March 8-10.

Source: Team PR

 

Newman Wachs Racing announces Siegel As First USF2000 Driver For 2019

NEWMAN WACHS RACING ANNOUNCES SIEGEL AS FIRST USF2000 DRIVER FOR 2019

Northern California rookie joins veteran team for the full 2019 Road to Indy season

 

CHICAGO, IL (February 13, 2019) – Newman Wachs Racing is pleased to announce its first Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires driver for the 2019 season. American Nolan Siegel will make his debut in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the March 8-10 weekend, and the 14-year-old California native will be focused on learning the car and the tracks throughout the year.

 

“I’m really looking forward to working with Nolan this year,” said Brian Halahan, NWR Team Manager. “I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people throughout the season. He’s been working with Tom Dyer, our driver coach, over the winter months and has also completed a few days of testing, so he should be ready to go at the season opener in St. Pete.”

Nolan Siegel joins Newman Wachs Racings for the 2019 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship (Photo Courtesy of Newman Wachs Racing)

 

Siegel got his start racing karts in Northern California at the renowned Simraceway Performance Karting Center, which is located at Sonoma Raceway.  In 2013, as a car lover at the age of eight, he sampled a kart at the Sonoma facility and hasn’t stopped since. The next year, Nolan continued karting at the local club level before stepping it up in 2015 and 2016, competing in the California Rotax Max Challenge and then the ROK Sonoma Series. Siegel won the ROK Junior championship in the ROK Sonoma Series in 2017, and he also competed against some of the best karters at the Superkarts! USA California ProKart Challenge. The 2018 season brought many new experiences for the young pilot, as he continued to develop his racecraft at the SKUSA ProKart Challenge, running in both the X30 Junior and S5 Junior Stock Honda shifter. Nolan also traveled overseas to compete in a Central European Rotax Championship event. Siegel then made the decision to test out the world of open-wheel formula car racing. Staying close to home, he competed in the Sonoma Raceway Formula 3 Series, where he was crowned the 2018 champion at the young age of 13. Motivated by his success in 2018 and with the help and mentorship of Tom Dyer, Siegel is now prepared to take on the challenge of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship with Newman Wachs Racing.

 

“I am very excited to step up to a new level of competition,” Siegel enthused. “Especially with such a well-known and established team like Newman Wachs Racing. It is going to be a big challenge, but I am ready and itching to get out on track in St. Pete.”

 

Newman Wachs Racing has been hard at work this off-season, prepping cars and testing multiple drivers. While their main focus remains the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, the team did compete in the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill last December, where they fielded a Radical SR3 RSX that placed second in class. Building on that success, they dominated the class to come home as the winner of their next race, the PBOC 6-Hour Sebring Winterfest in January. The entire team has now shifted back to the Road to Indy and the official series test in Homestead, Florida on March 2-3 before traveling north for the season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 8-10. The team is looking forward to the new drivers and the new season ahead.

Source: Team PR

Newman Wachs Racing Signs DeLuzuriaga to Rookie USF2000 Effort

NEWMAN WACHS RACING SIGNS DELUZURIAGA TO ROOKIE USF2000 EFFORT

Freshman driver to make Mazda Road to Indy debut with veteran team

 

CHICAGO, IL (December 19, 2017) Newman Wachs Racing is pleased to announce its second driver for the 2018 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, confirming 18-year-old Oscar DeLuzuriaga. The UK-born Singapore resident has been hard at work testing with the team in their USF-17 cars after joining the crew for the first time in June. Oscar also ran with NWR at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the MRTI Chris Griffis Memorial test in October. DeLuzuriaga will make his Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires debut when the USF2000 series kicks off at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 9-11, 2018.

“I’m really excited to add Oscar to our team for the 2018 season,” offered Brian Halahan, NWR Team Manager. “We began a testing program a few months back to see if he would be ready for next year and he has come a very long way in a short time. He has put in a lot of work in, so I feel he deserves a spot on the team.” 

DeLuzuriaga got his start, as most young drivers do, in karting at the age of 13.  He raced in numerous karting series across the UK and Asia, developing his skills and his racecraft.  From the very beginning, Oscar had his sights on single-seat formula cars. Understanding the demands of the sport, he has also devoted himself to his health and fitness regime to make sure that he’s in best shape possible. In 2015, Oscar began his open wheel program, kicking off a testing plan with numerous British F3 teams in the UK before jumping into competition this past season in the Lucas Oil Formula Race Series in the United States. During these events, DeLuzuriaga landed with Newman Wachs Racing after mid-summer testing and he has made major gains in the testing outings he’s completed. Oscar remains very focused on learning all he can about the USF2000 car to keep improving throughout the off-season heading into 2018.

“I am ecstatic about driving with NWR this coming season,” DeLuzuriaga said enthusiastically. “We have been testing for the past few months and have seen lots of improvement in my driving and in the relationship that I have with the team and the other drivers. I have already learned so much from them and I can’t wait to further enhance my driving skills and further my driver career with them. Working with the team is a great deal of fun and has been very professional. I can’t wait to get the season started.”

Oscar DeLuzuriaga is the second driver confirmed for Newman Wachs Racing for the 2018 Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda season (photo courtesy of Newman Wachs Racing)

The team has been hard at work testing since the Chris Griffis Memorial test in October, and will continue testing through to the series deadline to determine which drivers will fill its final seats. With Darren Keane and Oscar DeLuzuriaga having been officially confirmed for the 2018 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, the team is looking to add as two additional driver to the line-up. Drivers interested in testing with the team should contact Brian Halahan at 727-692-6052.

Source: Newman Wachs Racing PR

  • Oscar DeLuzuriaga is the second Newman Wachs Racing driver confirmed, joining USF2000 sophomore Darren Keane, and the third Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda confirmed to a team. 

Niall Murray heads stateside for USF2000 debut with Newman Wachs Racing

Dublin, Ireland – Niall Murray is set to continue his sequence of debuts with confirmation that he will return to America next month to join the Newman Wachs team for his Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda debut.

Having come so close to a heavily funded season in the American championship by making it to the final six in the Mazda Road To Indy Shootout last December, Murray narrowly lost out to eventual winner Oliver Askew. Since that event, the 22-year-old has had a burning desire to return across the Atlantic ocean and race in the 2-litre Tatuus USF-17 single-seater series to prove his worth.

Having met with Newman Wachs Team Manager Brian Halahan during his brief visit last year, the pair have kept in regular contact until finally the opportunity Murray had been waiting for presented itself, to race in the series he hoped to spend 2017 competing in.

Murray’s first taste of the enhanced FIA Formula 4 specification single-seater will come with an evaluation session in Chicago next week, followed by a two-day test at Watkins Glen, a 3.37-mile 11-turn road course. This valuable mileage will all serve to prepare the current British Formula Ford Champion for his competitive debut at the same venue on the weekend of September 1-3, the final round of the 2017 series.

Niall Murray – Newman Wachs Racing: “Last year we met Brian Halahan from Newman Wachs Racing at the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout and we’ve kept in regular contact since. I’m absolutely over the moon that this opportunity has finally come together. Having come so close last December, USF2000 is a series I’ve wanted to race in since, so I will be making sure I make the most of every lap. We’ve worked very hard behind the scenes to make this happen, and I have a lot of people around me to thank for this so I’ll be making sure to give them a good performance. I’m hoping this run in the car will help me if I make it back to the shootout again this year, and prove to the judges that I am very serious about my intentions of racing in the USA in 2018.”

Niall Murray, who won the Walter Hayes Trophy and Formula Ford Festival championships in 2016, will make his American racing debut with Newman Wachs in the USF2000 Championship at Watkins Glen International. (Photo courtesy of Niall Murray Racing)

Newman Wachs Racing signs young rookie Andre Castro

Team Release:

Mundelein, IL (January 20, 2017) – Newman Wachs Racing announced today the signing of 18-year old racer Andre Castro for the upcoming season.

“I am very happy to say that we have locked down our second driver today” said Team Manager, Brian Halahan. “We ran Andre in our first test at Indy last October, and we had some success with him right from the start. He was fast and he worked well with the team, so I feel we can build on that and have him running strong as soon as he is back in the Newman Wachs car.  I think Andre and Dakota will make good teammates and push each other to the front.”

Castro, who turned 18 just a few weeks ago, was born in New York City, but his origins are Colombian. He speaks both English and Spanish, as his parents are immigrants from Colombia. He attends Stuyvesant High School, a school for gifted students.

The young driver began racing go-karts at the age of seven, and won his very first race. He raced go-karts until 2016, when he started racing cars accumulating three wins, six poles, and ten podiums in the Skip Barber Championship Series. He was also nominated for the Team USA Scholarship after only three races in a car, and made it to the finalist stage.

“I am thrilled to be a part of Newman Wachs’ return to open-wheel racing, said Castro. After working with the team closely in the weeks leading up to the Chris Griffis Memorial test at Indy last fall, I saw that the team was incredibly serious about coming back and winning straight out of the gate. At the test itself, I was able to work with engineer Alan O’Leary extremely well, and by the end of the final day, me, a rookie driver and a returning team, together, we managed to be on top of the time sheets.”

“With all the extensive behind-the-scenes work and fine-tuning that Brian and the whole team have undertaken since then, I have no doubt that we will be able to compete for wins from the very first race in St. Petersburg, Castro added. I know I have a steep learning curve ahead of me, but I look forward to the challenge and I cannot wait to get going.”

Team engineer, Alan O’Leary shared his thoughts about the young rookie: “I am super excited to have Andre as part of our team. We were very impressed with how he performed at the Indy test, and pairing him with Dakota will be fantastic. I can’t wait to get them both on track working together. André will be in the #37 car, as Dakota’s car will carry the number 36.”

TSO Ladder Notes from Steve:

  • Castro is the ninth driver confirmed for the 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda season, joining: Moises de la Vara (DEForce Racing), Kory Enders (DEForce Racing), Rinus VK (Carlin/Benik), Devin Wojcik (ArmsUp Motorsports), Chandler Horton (RJB Motorsports), Robert Megennis (Team Pelfrey), and Parker Thompson (Exclusive Autosport).
  • Castro tested with the team at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October, and got up to speed quickly. The 18 year-old was only in the car on the second day, but was able to turn the seventh quickest time overall, and was the quickest driver in the final practice session. 
  • Castro joins Sting Ray Robb as the second announced USF2000 driver that was awarded a 2015 Skip Barber Race Series Karts to Cars Scholarship.
  • TSO would be surprised if we didn’t see one more entry from Newman Wachs Racing. When we chatted with Team Manager, Brian Halahan at PRI in December, he indicated that they would like to have three cars in Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda. The Mundelein, Illinois based team purchased four USF-17 chassis, but will build up the fourth chassis as Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire test car when those parts become available in the spring. 
  • You can follow Castro on the following social media platforms: Twitter – Instagram – Facebook

NEWMAN WACHS RACING ANNOUNCES FIRST DRIVER – Team signs Dakota Dickerson for two-year deal

Newman Wachs Racing logo

Team Release:

Mundelein, IL (November 30, 2016) – Team Manager, Brian Halahan was all smiles today when Newman Wachs Racing announced they signed 19-year old racer Dakota Dickerson to a two-year deal.

“This is a good day for the team,” said Halahan. “Having Dakota be part of our program is huge. When I started looking at drivers, I had to make sure we found someone who could be fast on track and yet represent the team, in a professional manner.”

Dakota Dickerson’s talent as a racecar driver and his impressive off-track demeanor were exactly what Newman Wachs Racing were looking for. “After seeing what he did for Mazda, commented Halahan, I knew I had to chase him. My discussions with Dakota started immediately after I announced the team, back in August. Once we tested him, I saw how he gelled with the team, and I knew, right there and then, that it would work.”

Brian Halahan talks about the Team’s plans for 2018. “The best part about all this is that we have come to an agreement with Dakota for a two-year deal. This season, Dakota will run in the USF2000 Championship, and in 2018, he’ll move up to Pro Mazda, where Newman Wachs Racing will also have a team. I am looking forward to the next couple of years with Dakota, and I know we will have a lot of success together.”

Dakota Dickerson has had an impressive career so far. In 2015, he acquired five wins and nine podiums in the Skip Barber Summer Series, and was a multiple race winner in SCCA Spec Mazda Miata. That same year, he won the Skip Barber Championship Shootout earning him a $200,000 scholarship from Mazda Motorsports for the 2016 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. He was also a Team USA Scholarship winner claiming a top-five finish at the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch in England. Dickerson raced go-karts from 2002 to 2012, ending the season fifth overall in the SKUSA ProKart Challenge/TaG Senior, while also racking up championship titles along the way.

Perhaps his talent and passion for racing come from his grandmother and his father who were both go-kart racers. The third generation racer will have lots to celebrate when he turns 20 in a few days.

“I am extremely excited to be a part of the Newman Wachs Racing team, stated Dickerson. Once Brian (Halahan) had announced the return of Newman Wachs Racing, we started discussing how we could set up a test day to see how we could work together. I had heard only great things about them, particularly how professional and dedicated to the sport everyone on the team is. After visiting their headquarters in Chicago, and later testing with them, along with meeting crucial members of the team such as Eddie Wachs and Anne Roy, all the feedback I had been getting was confirmed. I worked extremely well with Alan O’Leary, our engineer, along with the rest of the team. This all lead to the discussion of a multi-year program. A two-year commitment to the team is something that is extremely exciting and I believe sets up both NWR and myself for great success in the coming years. I look forward to representing the team and am working hard to come out strong for the opening race at St.Petersburg.

Team Principal, Eddie Wachs expressed his wish to uphold Paul Newman’s legacy in helping to develop young aspiring drivers, and that’s exactly what Newman Wachs Racing is aiming to do.

The always positive Dakota Dickerson will be joining Newman Wachs Racing for his sophomore Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda campaign. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The always positive Dakota Dickerson will be joining Newman Wachs Racing for his sophomore Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda campaign. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)


TSO Ladder Notes from Steve:

  • Dickerson is the fifth driver confirmed for the 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda season, joining: Moises de la Vara (DEForce Racing), Kory Enders (DEForce Racing), Rinus VK (Carlin/Benik) and Devin Wojcik (ArmsUp Motorsports)
  • Dickerson, who turns 20 on December 2nd, had a slow start to his 2016 USF2000 campaign after making the transition from karting and Skip Barber, but proved he was a quick study. Dickerson scored the sixth highest point total in the second half of the USF2000 season, finishing within three points (in second-half points) of series sophomores Jordan Lloyd and Luke Gabin. 
  • For Steve, the thing that really stood out about Dickerson in 2016, was his quiet, but constant positive attitude, and willingness to soak up knowledge from each and every situation. 
  • Dickerson, the 2015 Skip Barber Championship Shootout champion, spent the majority of 2015 as a one-car entry with Afterburner Autosport. The need and ability to dial in an effective set-up with no room for error should translate well as Dickerson helps Newman Wachs Racing develop the all-new USF-17 this year and PM-18 in 2018.
  • Newman Wachs Racing has brought on Alan O’Leary as the team’s engineer. O’Leary is a very shrewd hire, as he has spent a large portion of his career working with Dynamic dampers at Carl Haas Automotive, and the USF-17 features three-way adjustable dampers from Dynamic. 
  • You can follow Dickerson on the following social media platforms: Twitter – Instagram – Facebook